Staff Directory

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2019.04.06 - Tennessee vs. Mississippi State

Ross Kivett

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:

THE KIVETT FILE

Personal Information

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
College: Kansas State, 2014

Coaching Experience

2025-Pres.
Tennessee, Assistant Coach
2022-2024:
Houston, Assistant Coach
2018-2021:
Tennessee, Volunteer Assistant Coach

Playing Experience

2011-14:
Kansas State (Sixth Round Pick in 2014 MLB Draft by Detroit)
2014:
West Michigan Whitecaps (Single A)
2014:
Connecticut Tigers (Short-Season A)
2015:
West Michigan Whitecaps (Single A)
2016:
Lakeland Flying Tigers (Advanced A)
2017:
Erie SeaWolves (Double A)
2017:
Lakeland Flying Tigers (Advanced A)
2017:
Kansas City T-Bones (Independent)
2017:
Traverse City Beach Bums (Independent)

Playing Honors

2017 Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star (2017)
2014 New York Penn League Mid-Season All-Star (2014)
ABCA/Rawlings All-America Second Team (2013)
Baseball America & Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team (2013)
Big 12 Player of the Year (2013)
First Team All-Big 12 (2013)
NCAA Manhattan Regional MVP (2013)
Academic All-Big 12 Second Team (2013)
ABCA Midwest All-Region Second Team (2014)
Second Team All-Big 12 (2014)
CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Team (2014)
Academic All-Big 12 First Team (2014)
Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week (2014)

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE

Kansas State (as a player)

2011:
NCAA Regional (Fullerton, Calif.)
2013:
NCAA Super Regional (Corvallis, Ore.)

Tennessee

2019:
NCAA Regional (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
2021:
College World Series
2025:
NCAA Super Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello announced the return of Ross Kivett to his staff in August of 2024.

Kivett returned to Rocky Top as an assistant coach following three seasons at Houston, where he played a major role in the Cougars’ vastly improved offensive and defensive production throughout his tenure, earning a promotion to associate head coach in 2024.

In Kivett's first season back in Knoxville, Tennessee advanced to the program's fifth straight NCAA Super Regional and finished the 2025 season as one of the SEC's top offensive teams, ranking third in the conference in runs per game (8.2) while ranking second in the nation in home runs (131).

Under Kivett’s instruction, Houston saw year-to-year increases in each of the following offensive categories: home runs, OPS, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The Cougars were also among the nation’s top base stealing teams in 2023, finishing with 112 stolen bases after swiping 82 bags in 2022.

UH proved to be one of the nation’s top defensive teams in 2022 and 2023, as well, with three players being named ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove finalists as the Cougars set a program record and ranked second nationally with a .984 fielding percentage in 2022. The Cougars followed that up with a .982 fielding percentage in 2023, ranking seventh best in the nation while also finishing the season ranked No. 5 nationally in double plays with 56

Kivett, an Ohio native, was a part of Vitello's initial staff at Tennessee in 2018 following four seasons in the Detroit Tigers' minor league system, and spent four seasons as UT's volunteer assistant coach and camp coordinator before taking a job at Houston.

Kivett was part of the coaching staff that helped lead Tennessee to the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional in 2019, the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005. The Vols went 40-21 overall and 14-16 in SEC play to finish third in the Eastern Division, the program's highest finish since 2005.

After finishing the 2019 season as one of the nation's top defensive teams with a .979 fielding percentage, the Vols were even better through 17 games in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis. Tennessee ranked 18th in the country with a .981 fielding percentage and it's primary starting infielders had committed just five errors at the time of the season being canceled. Kivett also had a hand in the Vols' impressive offensive numbers in 2020. The Big Orange led the country in total runs (180) and runs per game (10.6) while ranking second in home runs (31), slugging percentage (.556), walks (124) and on-base percentage (.442). The Vols were also among the national leaders in a handful of other statistical categories, including: batting average: .320 (fifth), doubles: 43 (sixth) and hts: 193 (third).

One of the biggest areas of improvement for the Vols from year one to year two under Vitello's staff was the fielding and defense, due in large part to Kivett, who works closely with Tennessee's infielders. UT set a program record and finished 14th nationally with a .979 fielding percentage in 2019 after finishing 140th in the country with a .970 fielding percentage in 2018.

Kivett also helped transform Tennessee into one of the country's most proficient base stealing teams in 2019. The Vols led all Power 5 programs with 108 stolen bases while junior speedster Jay Charleston finished the year with 41 steals, becoming the first SEC player to steal 40-plus bases in a season since VFLs Chris Burke (49) and Stevie Daniel (46) both accomplished the feat back in 2001.

In his first season on Rocky Top, Kivett helped lead an offense that saw increases in its season totals in runs, hits, home runs, extra-base hits, RBI, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage in 2018 despite losing their top two hitters from 2017. Kivett also oversaw the transformation of shortstop Andre Lipcius, who transitioned to the position in 2018 after starting nearly every game at first base as a freshman in 2017. Despite a rough start to the year defensively, under Kivett's guidance, Lipcius committed only one error over the final 18 games of the season and finished the season as the team's leader in batting average (.315), home runs (seven), RBI (42) and total bases (96).

Kivett was an All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year for Kansas State in 2013 before being drafted by the Tigers in the sixth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He went on to play 47 games with the Single A Connecticut Tigers in 2014, tallying 55 hits and 26 RBIs, before being assigned to the West Michigan Whitecaps where he collected 154 hits, 78 runs scored, 30 doubles and 57 RBI over two seasons (2014, 2015). Kivett was named a 2014 New York Penn League Mid-Season All-Star during his stint with the Connecticut Tigers.

In 2016, Kivett played in 118 games for the Single A - Advanced Lakeland Flying Tigers. He recorded 93 hits, including 24 doubles, while being walked 70 times for a .328 on-base percentage. Kivett started 2017 with Lakeland, playing in 41 games, before being promoted to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves in May. He went on to play in 25 games, notching 17 hits, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases during his time with Erie. Prior to joining the SeaWolves, Kivett was named a Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star for Lakeland in 2017. During his professional career, Kivett totaled 362 hits, 77 doubles, 147 RBI and 61 stolen bases.

Prior to the 2014 draft, Kivett saw time at five different positions for the Kansas State Wildcats. During a breakout junior campaign, he led the Big 12 in hits (94) and runs (57) and finished second in stolen bases (26) and total bases (126). Following the 2013 season, Kivett was tabbed an All-American by three different outlets, earned Big 12 Player of the Year accolades, ABCA Midwest All-Region First Team honors and MVP of the NCAA Manhattan Regional. Kivett decided against turning pro after being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2013, and instead returned to Kansas State to play his final season of college baseball as well as earn his degree.

The All-American continued his stellar performance as a senior in 2014, becoming the first K-State player in nearly 17 years (the third in program history) to hit for the cycle when he achieved the feat on March 26 against Nebraska. Kivett cycled in reverse order, hitting a home run in the first, a triple in the second, a double in the third and a single in the sixth. He was named Big 12 Player of the Week following the series for the second time that season. Kivett capped off his career with ABCA Midwest All-Region and All-Big 12 Second Team honors. He also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Team recognition.

Kivett finished ranked among the Wildcats' top-10 in multiple categories, including first in stolen bases (80), second in games played (225) and games started (215), tied for second in runs scored (181), third in hits (277), fifth in hit by pitch (31), tied for fifth in walks (108) and tied for seventh in triples (11). He also started in 207 consecutive games, the longest such streak in Kansas State history.

A 2014 graduate of Kansas State with a degree in communication studies, Kivett is the son of Mike and Mary Kivett and has two siblings, Juliana and Jake. He and his wife, Jackie, reside in Knoxville with their daughter, Reese.